I’ve been hearing some great new (to me at least) songwriters recently but haven’t managed to sit down and write anything about them. Rather than trying to fight the backlog with single posts I thought I’d combine a few into one folky super-post.
Sean Atkins
Sean Atkins is a songwriter from Pittsburgh. I was immediately taken by his sound; a heartfelt simplicity with a good dose of melancholic introspection and regret, while all the while underpinned by a faint hint of hope. This is an achingly beautiful release from someone who deserves much wider attention. Volume 2 and numerous other releases are available on Bandcamp for free.
Castanets
Castanets is the moniker Ray Raposa, a Portland resident with quite a few albums already under his belt. Unfortunately I have only recently stumbled across him but am looking forward to exploring backwards through his catalogue. Check out the Keith Whitley cover below.
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/46692836″]
Matt Olsson
Matt Olsson, from New Jersey, has that American acoustic sound that brings to mind Bob Dylan and Tallest Man On Earth. ‘Snakes’ is the first single from his new album The Sabotage and is available free on Bandcamp.
Reuben Bullock
Reuben Bullock, a songwriterfrom Calgary, has formed a band called Rueben And The Dark. They have a much fuller sound than the previous artists on the list but are no less enthralling. I’m hearing some similarities to band such as Hip Hatchet, which is no bad thing.
Jo Schornikow
I first caught Jo Schornikow on The Waiting Room radio show where she played a session (along with Scott Rudd, who we wrote about here). The Australian plays piano/keyboards for The Shivers and is now going it alone with her various bandmates in support. Here a song below.
Water Liars
Water Liars, fronted by Theodore’s Justin Kinkel-Schuster, have released their debut album Phantom Limb on Misra Records. A superb blend of loud and quiet (as opening track ’$100’ displays below), like Damien Jurado singing on Pope Killdragon. An album that is well worth your time.
While it would be better to give each of these their own post (and therefore the attention and focus they deserve), time isn’t something I have in abundance right now. You have my apologies but this will have to suffice.